Cloth expander and straightener



pt. 20, 1 J. c. SUTTON, SR 2,718,046

CLOTH EXPANDER AND STRAIGHTENER Filed March 1, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. JAMES C. SUTTOMSR.

ATTORNEY pt. 20, 1955 J. c. SUTTON, SR 2,718,046

CLOTH EXPANDER AND STRAIGHTENER JAMES C.SuTTo 5a IN VENT OR ATTORNEY United States Patent CLOTH EXPANDER AND STRAIGHTENER James C. Sutton, Sr., Greenville, S. C.

Application March 1, 1954, Serial No. 413,050

7 Claims. (Cl. 26--63) This invention relates to cloth handling devices and more particularly to an improved apparatus for guiding cloth in open width and for expanding and straightening the cloth by means of converging rolls.

It is well known to those having a knowledge of the art relating to textiles that the conveying of cloth in open width presents many problems such as are brought about by the selvage turning under or becoming crooked and the shrinkage which is attendant upon many of the dying and washing processes. The tendency of the cloth to get out of line is a problem that has heretofore required the use of very complicated machinery. These inherent difliculties have been combated by combinations of many mechanical means which require constant supervision and adjustment.

Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide a unitary device for guiding cloth in open width, the action of which will be positive and which may be adjusted to stretch the cloth to a desired width.

Another object of this invention is to provide a unitary device, employing converging rolls of substantial length, to guide and stretch cloth in open width and to straighten the cloth, particularly at the selvages where there is a tendency to turn under.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a unitary device which is simple in design and which has a minimum number of moving parts for guiding and conveying cloth and at the same time stretching cloth.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide a unitary structure for stretching and straightening cloth and for conveying the cloth in a straight line, which may be adjusted to accommodate cloth of various widths and weights.

l accomplish these and other objects of my invention by providing a device for stretching and straightening clothconsisting of a unitary frame extending for a substantial distance beyond the selvages of the cloth on each side thereof, a first pair of horizontally disposed superposed rolls rotatably mounted at their ends on one side of the frame, a second pair of superposed rolls rotatably mounted at their ends on the other side of the frame, each of said rolls being almost half the width of the frame, said first and second pairs of rolls converging in the direction of travel of the cloth, means for varying the pressure with which the rolls contact the cloth and means for varying the angle with which the rolls converge and hence the tension exerted by the rolls on the cloth as the cloth passes therebetween.

I further accomplish the objects of my invention by providing means for varying the angle of convergence of the rolls and automatically operable means for releasing the tension exerted by one of the pairs of rolls so that the other pair of rolls will pull the cloth in that direction to straighten the path of travel of the cloth.

My invention further consists of means for adjusting the device to accommodate rolls of various widths.

While some of the objects have been stated above,

others will appear to those skilled in the art relating to textiles when the specification is-read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 shows a side elevation of my cloth expander and straightener employed in conjunction with dry cans such as are used with a dye range, cloth washers or cloth calenders,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the cloth expander and straightener,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of one side of the cloth expander and straightener,-

Fig. 4 is an enlarged elevation taken along the line 4-4 in Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged elevation taken along the line 5-5 in Fig. 1,

Fig. 6 is an elevation looking at the right hand side of Fig. 3, and- Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 7 -7 in Fig. 3. 7

Referring more particularly to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows the invention associated with a number of dry canslll as would be found in a vat dyeing machine, the frame of which is broadly designated at 12. The invention is describedin connection with a vat dyeing machine but it will become apparent that it may be employed with equal facility in many phases of textile operations, this versatility being one of its chief advantages. In the present instance it is unnecessary to pass the cloth through a tenter frame at the completion of this operation as the cloth will have been straightened and expanded to the desired width.

The various parts of the invention are carried by a substantially rectangular unitary frame broadly designated at 4. The frame 14' consists of a pair of parallel horizontally disposed vertically spaced members 16 and 18, the lower member 18 being somewhat longer than the top member 16 so that it can be secured to the vat dyeing machine frame 12 as by bolts 20. Vertically disposed spacing members 22 and 24 are provided at the ends of the member 16 and are suitably secured to the members 16 and 18 as by bolts 26.

A pair of substantially rectangular frames 28 and 28', which are adapted to nest within the larger frame 14, are pivotally secured at their inner lower ends to the medial portion of the frame 14 on pins 30 and 30. Since the rectangular frames 28 and 28' are identical, only the parts of the frame 28 will be described in detail and like parts of the frame 28' will bear like reference characters with the prime notation added.

The frame 28 comprises a horizontally disposed lower member 32 and an upper horizontally disposed member 34. A pair of vertically disposed standards or spacing members 36 are provided adjacent the outer end of the frame 28 and are suitably secured thereto as by welding. These standards in addition to acting as spacing means also serve as hearing stands and form a vertical slot 37. The inner end of the frame 28 is provided with upper and lower bearing stands 38 and 40, respectively. It will be noted that the standards 36 are split intermediate their ends and are secured together as by bolts 42 to facilitate assembly and disassembly.

Horizontally disposed within the frame 28 are a pair of superposed, rubber covered, upper and lower cylindrical rolls 44 and- 46 respectively, the ends of which are rotatable in a pair of. respective roller bearings 48 and 50. The lower bearings 50 are supported in the slot 37 by fillets 51 (see Fig. 6) between the bearing stands 36 and 40. The top roll 44 is provided with an adjustable spring tension device 52 adjacent each end thereof to vary the pressure with which the upper roll 44 contacts the lowerrroll 46 or the cloth C passing therebetween. The spring tension devices 52 (see Fig. 7) consist simply of a sleeve 52a, threadably carried by the upper frame member 34 for adjusting the tension of a coiled. spring 5211 which resiliently urges a plunger 520 against the bearings 48. While only one pair of rolls is shown on each side it is apparent that several pairs could be employed in series in a modified frame if a more positive action is desired or several of these cloth expanders and straighteners could be used in series.

It will be noted that means are provided for varying the angle of the frames 28 and 28', carrying the rolls 44, 44' and 46, 46', with respect to each other. The means of adjusting the angle of the frames 28 and 28' consists of a rotatable shaft 54, mounted on the frame 18 in suitable bearings 53, 53' and 53a, and a link 56. The link 56 is pivoted on one end as at 55 to an internally threaded element 58 which is carried on and horizontally movable along the threaded portion 54a of the shaft 54. The link 56 is pivoted at its other end as at 59 on the lower frame 18. It will be further noted that the outer end of the lower frame member 18 is provided with upper and lower spaced roller supports or trackways 60 and 61. The trackways 60 and 61 guide rollers 62 which are rotatably secured on the outer end of the horizontally disposed lower member 32 of the frame 28 and support the end thereof as it is pivoted about the pin 30.

It is thus seen that by turning a hand wheel 64, fixed on the end of the shaft 54, the angle of convergence of the frames 28 and 28 and their respective rolls 44, 46 and 44', and 46' may be adjusted as desired. As the cloth C is passed between the rolls 44 and 46 in open width the rolls are turned by virtue of the friction exerted on them by the cloth C passing therebetween. Since the rolls are in converging relationship the lateral component of the force of this friction exerts tension on the fabric, thus tending to stretch the same. It is apparent that if a selvage were turned that it would be straightened and smoothed by the rolls. As the angle of convergence is decreased the tension exerted by the rolls is increased and therefore by adjusting the rolls at an appropriate angle and adjusting the amount of pressure that the top roll exerts on the bottom roll the tension with which the cloth is stretched in a transverse direction may be controlled as desired.

Automatically operable means are associated with each top roll 44 and 44 for raising either of the top rolls when either of the edges of the cloth move out of a straight line of travel. A pair of spring biased fingers 80 and 82 is provided to be engaged by and grip the selvage of the cloth when the cloth moves out of its line of travel to rotate a sleeve 84 rotatably mounted on a shaft 85. The upper end of the sleeve 84 has a cam surface 88 integral therewith which is adapted to engage a roll control rod 90. The upper end of the shaft 85 is fixed in a support block 89 mounted on a threaded shaft 89a, the ends of which are rotatably mounted in projections 91 on the standards 36 and 38. The support block 89 is held in a vertical position and is guided by a projection 96 fixed to the upper end thereof which travels along a pair of guide bars 97 and 98 fixed on the projections 91. The pair of fingers 80 and 82 is resiliently held in parallel relation to the rolls by a spring 86. The outer end of the shaft 89a is provided with square end 95 (see Fig. 3) which when turned as with a wrench is used to turn the shaft to thereby position the support blocks 89 and 89' the desired distance apart, to accommodate cloth of various widths.

It is thus seen that if the path of travel becomes crooked so that the selvage of the cloth engages the pair of spring biased fingers 80 and 82 the sleeve 84 and the cam 88 will be moved in a clockwise direction in Fig. 3 and the cam 88 will cause the rod 90 to be moved downwardly. Since the rod 90 is fixed at opposite ends to a pair of levers 92 which are pivoted as at 94 on the standards 36 and 38 and the free ends of the levers each engage a projection 93 of the upper roll 44, it is apparent that as the rod is moved downwardly in Fig. 6 the inner ends of the levers 92 will cause the top roll 44 to be raised, against the springs 52b, allowing the tension on the rolls 44 and 46 to pull the cloth in that direction.

While the invention has been described as being employed in connection with a vat dyeing machine, it may be employed equally as effectively in connection with a water mangle, for example. The cloth is pulled out of the bin and fed in the form of a rope through the detwister, over a beater and between the rolls thus eliminating the top beater, the scroll rolls and air guides. In addition to eliminating these parts the invention cuts the down time, or time the machine is out of operation considerably by virtue of the more efiicient way in which it straightens and stretches the cloth. It is apparent that the instant device may be used in its present form in many cloth handling operations and could be easily moved from one machine to another due to its unitary construction. More uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art relating to the textile industry and with minor modifications may be employed for many additional operations.

While a preferred embodiment of my invention has been described using specific terms, such description is for illustrative purposes only, and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A cloth expander and straightener comprising a frame adapted to be disposed transversely of the direction of travel of the cloth and to extend for a substantial distance beyond the selvages of the cloth on each side, means for rotatably mounting at least two pairs of super posed rolls in end to end relation within the frame, said means being pivoted adjacent the inner ends of the rolls in the medial portion of the frame, said rolls being adapted to converge in the direction of travel of the cloth so that the rolls will be caused to rotate due to the friction of the cloth passing therebetween to thus exert tension on the cloth, means for varying the angle with which the rolls converge for varying the tension exerted by the rolls, means for varying the pressure exerted by the rolls on the cloth and automatically operable means for releasing the tension exerted by one of the pairs of rolls on the cloth should the path of travel of the cloth move too far toward either side, to permit the tension of the other pair of rolls to pull the cloth in that direction thus straightening the path of travel of the'cloth.

2. A cloth expander and straightener as set forth in claim 1, in which said automatically operable means comprises means for engaging the selvages of the cloth when the cloth moves too far out of line in either direction and cam means actuated by said means for engaging the selvages for raising the upper roll of one pair to relax the tension exerted by that pair of rolls to permit the cloth to move toward the opposite pair of rolls.

3. A cloth expander and straightener comprising a unitary substantially rectangular frame adapted to be disposed transversely of the direction of travel of the cloth and to extend for a substantial distance beyond the selvages of the cloth on each side, means for rotatably mounting at least two pair of superposed rolls in end to end relation within the frame, said means including a pair of frames adapted to nest within said substantially rectangular frame and a bearing stand at each end of said frame for carrying the rolls, said frames being pivoted adjacent their inner ends in the medial portion of the frame, a trackway for supporting the outer ends of each frame, said frames being adapted to converge in the direction of travel of the cloth so that the rolls will exert tension on the cloth as the cloth passes therebetween, means for varying the angle with which the rolls converge, for varying the tension exerted thereby, resilient means urging the surfaces of the rolls together to apply pressure to the cloth and means for varying the pressure exerted by said resilient means.

4. A cloth expander and straightener comprising a unitary substantially rectangular frame adapted to be disposed transversely of the direction of travel of the cloth and to extend for a substantial distance beyond the selvages of the cloth on each side, a pair of frames adapted to nest within said. substantially rectangular frame, a bearing stand at each end of said pair of frames, a pair of superposed rolls rotatably mounted in each of said pair of frames, each of said pair of frames being pivoted adjacent their inner ends in the medial portion of the frame, a trackway for supporting the outer end of each frame, said frames being adapted to converge in the direction of travel of the cloth so that the rolls will exert tension on the cloth, threadable means for vary ing the angle with which the rolls converge for varying the tension exerted by the rolls, resilient means urging the surfaces of the rolls together to apply pressure to the cloth, means for varying the pressure exerted by said resilient means and cam means for raising one or the other of the top rolls when the path of travel of the cloth moves too far in the direction of either of the pairs of rolls to allow the tension of the other pair of rolls to re-align said path of travel.

5. A device for stretching and straightening cloth comprising a unitary substantially rectangular frame adapted to be disposed transversely of the direction of travel of the cloth and to extend for a substantial distance beyond the selvages of the cloth on each side, a pair of frames adapted to nest within said substantially rectangular frame, a bearing stand at each end of said pair of frames, a pair of superposed rolls disposed in each of said pair of frames, each of said pair of frames being pivoted adjacent its inner end in the medial portion of the frame, a trackway for supporting the outer end of each frame,

said frames being adapted to converge in the direction of travel of the cloth so that the rolls will exert tension on the cloth as the cloth passes therebetween, means for varying the angle with which the rolls converge including a rotatably mounted shaft running the entire length of the substantially rectangular frame, said shaft having threaded portions adjacent the outer ends of the pair of frames, linkage means pivotally secured on one end to the frame and threadably carried on the other end by the threaded portions of the shaft so that rotation of the shaft affects adjustment of the angle of convergence of the roll, resilient means urging the surfaces of the rolls together to apply pressure to the cloth and means for varying the pressure exerted by said resilient means.

6. A device for stretching and straightening cloth as set forth in claim 5, including automatically operable means for raising one or the other of the top rolls when the direction of travel of the cloth moves too far toward either pair of rolls comprising linkage means engaging the ends of the top rolls, cam means for actuating said linkage means to raise the top rolls and means for gripping the selvages of the cloth for actuating said cam means.

7. A device for stretching and straightening cloth as set forth in claim 6, including threadable means carrying said means for gripping the selvages whereby, the said means for gripping the selvages may be adjusted to accommodate cloth of various widths.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,385,746 Hogan July 26, 1921 1,434,179 Wood Oct. 31, 1922 1,645,036 Bacon Oct. 11, 1927 2,082,799 Hetherington June 8, 1937 2,170,578 Sperry Aug. 22, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS 143,347 Great Britain May 27, 1920 192,836 Great Britain Feb. 15, 1923 

